Don't they say adding a bit of kombu seaweed to beans is meant to help if you're cooking them from scratch? I could be completely misremembering that, but it seems an odd thing to have made up...

I was surprised to see I've lost a couple more pounds even though I haven't really been eating very well (oven chips - always want plenty of carbs at this time of year), less than a stone to go now before I'm in the "normal" BMI. Whoop!

_________________"I go to the people with dirty onions and scrawny broccoli." - allularpunk

I've been at a plateau for the past few weeks despite eating very well and exercising every day. So I'm upping my cardio and cutting out sugar until Thanksgiving.

On the bright side! I saw some pictures of myself today and was actually pretty okay with how I looked in them for the first time in a few years. This is huge for me, much bigger than a number on a scale.

Weighed myself... I've lost only 3lbs in a month ....disheartened. I'm hoping some of its muscle, because to be fair I've been doing weight training every other day, not really any cardio apart from walking 40 minutes to uni and back ( mostly a hill walk) but still... I might start doing a tabata workout to go alongside it, just to shed a bit of the fat.

Weighed myself... I've lost only 3lbs in a month ....disheartened. I'm hoping some of its muscle, because to be fair I've been doing weight training every other day, not really any cardio apart from walking 40 minutes to uni and back ( mostly a hill walk) but still... I might start doing a tabata workout to go alongside it, just to shed a bit of the fat.

On the plus side, you're lost 3lbs this month without really doing any cardio. That ain't nothing.

I've restarted my dieting. I had a week or so of eating (sensibly) whatever I wanted because after four months, my metabolism was shot to fork, or so it certainly felt, and I had reached a plateau. I'm not too far off my goal of having a flat stomach. I'm certainly a different shape than I used to be, it's very alien.

_________________Moon - "This is the best recipe in the history of recipes forever."

I need an asparagus whooping. I'm just the pits! I can't keep away from the junk food. I just can't do the "in moderation" malarky anymore. As punishment, all the junk food in my online shop is coming out of the basket. *sobs*

And roll on tomorrow evening so I can shift all the sweets and crisps out of the house and into kids bags.

It's just so damn hard! Last night I got home and ended up having a pack of hunky dory's and a pack of starburst with my cup of tea at midnight. This time last year I was the type of person that could have a square of chocolate then put it back in the fridge. Now I'm the type of person who is so busy eating the entire thing that I don't even get to move away from the fridge door.

So, I've been doing pretty well! I did eat probably too much tempeh bacon last night, but other than that, I've been mostly under control. I haven't weighed myself to get an official "starting" weight... but I'm not entirely certain that I need to as long as I'm being honest with myself about whether or not I'm sticking to my plan. Regardless, I'll get weighed tomorrow when I go to the doctor's office. Maybe I'll just go by that and not really weigh at home, depending on how often he wants to see me.

I forgot to mention that I can't really do too much exercise because I have a heart arrhythmia that was caused by stress. Medical school is hard on the body. I'm hoping that losing weight will make it so that I can do more, even if I am on heart medication that makes me feel zonked if I try and do too much. Basically, I'm hoping that I can exchange my energy expenditure from just carrying my own weight to using that for something more fun, like being able to do lots of walking during a vacation. Oh, and I really, really miss my closet full of clothes that I can't wear now... but will soon enough!

So my few days of cutting back on the sugar has paid off. I'm down 1lb!

It's also hit home how much weight I have put on since August because a new pair of jeans in my normal size won't tie up on me. They are really cute so I am going to keep them as motivation for me to get back down to that size.

Hi, I am brand new here. I just have been following PPK's blog forever and have most of her cookbooks. I just discovered the Forum (I don't know why I never noticed it) anyway I just saw this thread and thought I would "weigh" in...

When I became a Vegan over 3 years ago I lost over 20 lbs... it just came off. And trust me I needed it. And without effort it has stayed off. Now lately I have started gaining weight and I have no Idea why. I still eat the same way. But the lbs are just creeping back on... I have gained 7 or 8 lbs... Oh so frustrating.

A slowing metabolism doesn't explain 8 pounds in a couple years. Are you sure you're eating the same way you were when you lost 20 pounds? Are you moving less? If I were you I'd track my eating for a while to see if it's really stayed the same or if you're nibbling/snacking more, eating bigger portions, eating out more, etc. Also, your metabolism slows as you age primarily because you lose muscle mass - the only real corrective is resistance training/weight lifting, the heavier the weights, the better. It'll also protect your bones as you age.

I am in post-Hurricane survival mode and have been eating my way through the past week. Eating out almost every meal, tons of sweets, etc. I had lost 8.5 pounds, probably have gained it all back. But I don't have the will to diet while I'm sleeping in someone else's home, can't cook, etc.

Ariann, I have taken the week off too, and I'm still in my apartment with power. It's been such an awful week full of anxiety and confusion...I just couldn't manage to diet throughout this hurricane business. I hope you get back to your home soon and that your family is okay.

Hitting Post Menopause and metabolism, could be it, but stress and snacking could be it also... Then there is the self full fulling prophesy of getting more depressed about my weight and eating more because of it. uuuug

I decided to take the entire month of MoFo off from trying to lose weight because I'd been at a plateau for over a month and was having more and more trouble giving a shiitake or believing that I might get to my goal. So I expected to be up a bit because during MoFo I ate recklessly.

To my surprise, I lost 3 lbs during MoFo. I think it's the boost I needed to get going again. I've actually tracked my food the past 5 days. Woo!

I feel like I might have lost some weight the first part of this month. I may weigh at my weight-loss group this Thursday, if my life isn't too frantic- I am downsizing (well, if that is what you can call axing like 65% of your life possesions!) and packing for a move, so meals have NOT been well planned out. But the sheer physicality I have been putting in to get this place boxed up has had me pouring sweaat, so that's gotta have done something! It's stresssssful. Ugh. If I can't weigh in this coming Thursday, I will definitely have to do so by the 15th or whatever is the Thursday after that. Scary, after avoiding tracking my previous weigh-in s for months while I had been pg. Hopefully my hormones have calmed down and settled in and there will have been a normalization of my weight numbers.

Argh! Wish my period would arrive. It has me really bloated and it is going to effect my weight loss this week. I've been so good all this week I should receive a sainthood. I was out last night and I didn't cave to my longing for a fizzy drink. I stuck with the orange juice all night. I've even been doing longer walks the past few days.